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An alkaline diet is a diet that is naturally high in fruits and vegetables to help ensure a healthy alkaline pH in your blood. Why do you need to be alkaline for good health? Because dis-ease, viruses and bad bacteria all grow in an oxygen-poor and acid-rich environment. If you get frequent colds, coughs or flu, have poor digestion (irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, constipation, acid reflux) or suffer from aches and pains in the joints, you are more than likely too acidic. Other signs of acidosis include body odor, bad breath and frequent skin eruptions (acne, eczema, dermatitis). By maintaining an alkaline pH, you’re naturally changing your internal terrain to a healthy environment where disease cannot thrive. Alkaline foods help to keep your immune system strong, your digestion working properly, and your joints in good health.

What is pH health?

The most important thing to understand with pH health is how your body digests food. Alkaline foods are foods that require almost no extra acid from the stomach for digestion. Even though a lemon is acidic on the table, for example, it’s 100% alkaline-forming to the body and is therefore an alkaline food. On the other hand, meat takes a whole lot of stomach acid to digest and so it’s an acid-forming food.

Ideally, the pH of your blood should be slightly alkaline, in the range of 7.385, in order for your hormonal system and immune system to work its best. To achieve that, you should strive for a diet of 80% alkaline-forming foods + 20% acid-forming foods. (In reality, most people are doing the exact opposite, eating 20% alkaline-forming foods + 80% acid-forming foods. Is it any wonder why the rates of disease are so high?) The best anti-cancer diet is an 80% alkaline diet.

If you don’t eat the right combination of alkaline vs. acid foods, your body will try to force itself into an alkaline pH. The way it knows how to do that is to leech calcium directly from your bones. Calcium is the best natural buffer there is! Long-term, if you eat an acid-forming diet for many years, you’re setting yourself up for loss of bone density, more likelihood of hip, knee and joint problems and even osteoarthritis in addition to higher risk for disease.

What are alkaline foods?

What are acidic foods?

20% of your daily diet can consist of: nuts, seeds and grains. Also on the acidic side are coffee, alcohol, bread (wheat), refined sugar, dairy, meat, fried foods, processed foods, jams, jelly, cookies and chocolate. Artificial sweeteners are the most acid-forming food there is (and yes, that includes sugar-free chewing gum!). Note: I’m not saying that all of these foods are good because they’re not. You need to pick and choose what will be in your 20% from this list every day. Personally, I choose organic nuts, seeds and grains.

How to get more alkaline: Think alkaline thoughts!

The most important factor in determining your pH health comes from your diet and also your mental and emotional health. Did you ever hear someone say that they are “sick with anger”? Yep, that’s an acid-forming emotion, along with fear, jealousy, greed and hate. Conversely, love, joy, acceptance, laughter and forgiveness are all alkaline-forming energies. Keeping your focus on positive thoughts and emotions helps to maintain an alkaline pH, and hopefully that’s a practice you can keep for life.

Does drinking alkaline water help?

Alkaline water filters are extremely expensive and they are also quite wasteful with water. If you’ve ever seen one running, you will have noticed that 1/2 the water goes back down the drain and only 1/2 of the “alkaline water” stays. As an environmental engineer, I can’t help but see that as a completely wasteful system of a very valuable and important resource: clean water.

I don’t think you can fix a bad diet by drinking alkaline water. But, if you’re already suffering from acid reflux, digestive issues or skin problems, you can try a combination of eating more alkaline-forming foods AND drinking alkaline water in an effort to get faster results. In that case, you may want to try something cheaper than an alkaline water filter. I recommend adding 1 Tbsp. of freshly squeezed lemon juice or 1 Tbsp. of raw apple cider vinegar to 3 glasses of water daily. Of course, you need to drink it too! Not only is this a great naturally alkalizing drink, but it helps to gently detox your liver, kidneys and skin too.

>>>>>>> What is you favorite ALKALINE FOOD or ALKALINE lifestyle tip? <<<<<<<<

An alkaline diet is a diet that is naturally high in fruits and vegetables to help ensure a healthy alkaline pH in your blood. Why do you need to be alkaline for good health? Because dis-ease, viruses and bad bacteria all grow in an oxygen-poor and acid-rich environment. If you get frequent colds, coughs or flu, have poor digestion (irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, constipation, acid reflux) or suffer from aches and pains in the joints, you are more than likely too acidic. Other signs of acidosis include body odor, bad breath and frequent skin eruptions (acne, eczema, dermatitis). By maintaining an alkaline pH, you’re naturally changing your internal terrain to a healthy environment where disease cannot thrive. Alkaline foods help to keep your immune system strong, your digestion working properly, and your joints in good health.

What is pH health?

The most important thing to understand with pH health is how your body digests food. Alkaline foods are foods that require almost no extra acid from the stomach for digestion. Even though a lemon is acidic on the table, for example, it’s 100% alkaline-forming to the body and is therefore an alkaline food. On the other hand, meat takes a whole lot of stomach acid to digest and so it’s an acid-forming food.

Ideally, the pH of your blood should be slightly alkaline, in the range of 7.385, in order for your hormonal system and immune system to work its best. To achieve that, you should strive for a diet of 80% alkaline-forming foods + 20% acid-forming foods. (In reality, most people are doing the exact opposite, eating 20% alkaline-forming foods + 80% acid-forming foods. Is it any wonder why the rates of disease are so high?) The best anti-cancer diet is an 80% alkaline diet.

If you don’t eat the right combination of alkaline vs. acid foods, your body will try to force itself into an alkaline pH. The way it knows how to do that is to leech calcium directly from your bones. Calcium is the best natural buffer there is! Long-term, if you eat an acid-forming diet for many years, you’re setting yourself up for loss of bone density, more likelihood of hip, knee and joint problems and even osteoarthritis in addition to higher risk for disease.

What are alkaline foods?

What are acidic foods?

20% of your daily diet can consist of: nuts, seeds and grains. Also on the acidic side are coffee, alcohol, bread (wheat), refined sugar, dairy, meat, fried foods, processed foods, jams, jelly, cookies and chocolate. Artificial sweeteners are the most acid-forming food there is (and yes, that includes sugar-free chewing gum!). Note: I’m not saying that all of these foods are good because they’re not. You need to pick and choose what will be in your 20% from this list every day. Personally, I choose organic nuts, seeds and grains.

How to get more alkaline: Think alkaline thoughts!

The most important factor in determining your pH health comes from your diet and also your mental and emotional health. Did you ever hear someone say that they are “sick with anger”? Yep, that’s an acid-forming emotion, along with fear, jealousy, greed and hate. Conversely, love, joy, acceptance, laughter and forgiveness are all alkaline-forming energies. Keeping your focus on positive thoughts and emotions helps to maintain an alkaline pH, and hopefully that’s a practice you can keep for life.

Does drinking alkaline water help?

Alkaline water filters are extremely expensive and they are also quite wasteful with water. If you’ve ever seen one running, you will have noticed that 1/2 the water goes back down the drain and only 1/2 of the “alkaline water” stays. As an environmental engineer, I can’t help but see that as a completely wasteful system of a very valuable and important resource: clean water.

I don’t think you can fix a bad diet by drinking alkaline water. But, if you’re already suffering from acid reflux, digestive issues or skin problems, you can try a combination of eating more alkaline-forming foods AND drinking alkaline water in an effort to get faster results. In that case, you may want to try something cheaper than an alkaline water filter. I recommend adding 1 Tbsp. of freshly squeezed lemon juice or 1 Tbsp. of raw apple cider vinegar to 3 glasses of water daily. Of course, you need to drink it too! Not only is this a great naturally alkalizing drink, but it helps to gently detox your liver, kidneys and skin too.

>>>>>>> What is you favorite ALKALINE FOOD or ALKALINE lifestyle tip? <<<<<<<<

Did you know that one of the top selling over the counter (OTC) drugs in the world today is heartburn medication? Acid reflux and heartburn are seemingly minor and annoying conditions, but they can have a long-term effect on your health. To be chronically over-acid means that your body is too acidic. ‘The volcano effect’ as I call it, or heartburn, is your body’s way of trying to expel the excess acid. Many people have such bad heartburn that they have to sleep sitting up.

A Daily Green Smoothie for an Alkaline Diet

What most people don’t realize is that acidosis can be very much regulated and controlled by diet.

A typical breakfast for a chronic heartburn sufferer might be coffee with sugar and milk. Add a slice of toast and an egg or muffin and you have a 100% acid-forming meal. That means the stomach will have to produce a lot of acid in order to digest that meal. (The first rumblings of the volcano).

Later that morning, this person might start feeling tired so will reach for another coffee, or a bagel or maybe even a cigarette. At lunch, due to a busy schedule, the meal may be a burger, slice of pizza, sandwich or meat pie….and yes, all of those foods are acid-forming. Now the volcano is starting to spew some sparks of fire and by mid-afternoon this person may be reaching for an antacid tablet to get through the rest of the day.

Going home to a beer or glass of wine followed by a typical dinner of pasta and bread, and this person has just won the prize for a 100% acid-forming day. It’s no wonder that 5 or 6 more antacid pills are required after dinner. Start that whole cycle over again the next day and the next and you have an antacid customer for life.

The problem with being chronically acidic, though, is much more serious than just having a ‘symptom’ like acid reflux. Internally, an acidic terrain is a breeding ground for the first stage of every dis-ease, including cancer. I always say, ‘You don’t catch cancer on Wednesday and get diagnosed on Thursday.’ Something like cancer takes years to develop, and the first thing that starts the process is an over-acid environment.

Keeping the environment alkaline is one of the best forms of natural prevention. Acid-reflux should be looked at as a warning sign; the body is trying to tell you that it’s out of balance.

Benefits of an Alkaline Diet: Lower risk of dis-ease and no more acid reflux!

Taking antacid tablets on a daily basis may take away the symptom, but it doesn’t take away the problem: chronic acidosis.

This is where the Green Smoothie comes flying in wearing a green cape offering real relief to the poor victim of a Standard American Diet (SAD). Ok, it might not be as dramatic as that, but it may feel like a superhero rescued you when you finally stop suffering from acid reflux and start feeling good with your digestive health. Let’s go back to the old breakfast of the heartburn sufferer and let’s make the first food/drink/meal of the day a Green Smoothie instead. Now, you’ve got a 100% alkaline-forming food to gently wake up the stomach for work for the day and there is no volcano in sight. You feel good, satiated and ready to start the day. After the Green Smoothie, you can even add a coffee (preferably organic and with no milk or sugar) and you will not experience the same volcano effect as before.

So you can still have your coffee (hopefully organic), but only after the Green Smoothie.

At lunch, aim for a nice portion of salad or steamed vegetables, and even another Green Smoothie if desired. (The Green Smoothie can be made up to 2 days in advance). This give you another 100% alkaline-forming meal. At dinner, you can now enjoy a wine with pasta (preferably brown rice or quinoa with some fresh salad or vegetables) and you should be throwing out your antacid tablets for good. It can really be that simple. If you don’t give your body the right combinations of foods, you are not going to experience the right combination of results. Everything that goes into your body has an effect on your body. A daily Green Smoothie brings the chronic heartburn sufferer back into balance, naturally, with an alkaline diet.

Looking for Green Smoothie recipes to help with acid reflux?

Green Smoothie recipes for Acid Reflux and many other common ailments too!

Check out my NEW book Green Smoothies for Dummies – I’ve got a whole section on Cooling the Burn of Acid Reflux where I feature 5 amazing Green Smoothies for Heartburn. Find the book Green Smoothies for Dummies on iTunes or amazon.com!

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Jennifer provides Health Coaching & Iridology Analyses to clients, offers personalized private VIP detox, is a consultant to the top luxury hotels and spas in the world and is even a published author. She works to educate, motivate and inspire others on their journey of healing. >> Read More>

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The information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or other health care professional or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any diet, exercise or supplementation program, before taking any medication, or if you have or suspect you might have a health problem. Read full disclaimer here.